In our minds, we can say we are willing, but when it comes down to it, is your heart willing? There is a parable about a rich young ruler coming to Jesus saying, “I have followed every law. What else do I need to do to follow you?” And Jesus says, “Give up all you have and follow me.” The young ruler was heartbroken; he couldn’t and didn’t want to give up all he had. This is being willing but not fully willing. I was reading Joshua 2 and came across an unlikely willing perso

“Pearls are formed when a natural or artificial irritant enters a mollusk (oyster or mussel), prompting it to secrete a protective, crystalline substance called nacre (a mixture of calcium carbonate and proteins) to coat the intruder. This layer-by-layer coating process, occurring over months or years, creates the lustrous gem, with cultured pearls involving human insertion of a nucleus.” — (Google info through AI) Isn’t that interesting? The process is much longer than I tho

Eight years ago, my dad passed away. Six years ago, my mom started having medical problems. It was a lot for me because I was the one taking all of this on. At one point, I thought I might be starting to have a mental breakdown because I was feeling stressed and helpless. I felt as though I just couldn’t catch up because I had a family to take care of as well. Everything felt heavy. But something happened. I suddenly realized how much I needed God to take things from me, and

Our Solution or His? Have you ever had a problem, and tried every solution you could think of to fix it, and then, as a last resort, asked God for help? We all have because we want to be the one to fix them. This is a simple example, but one time my mother-in-law misplaced her wallet. She looked everywhere and was convinced that she had left it somewhere, so she was going to call and cancel all her cards and get new ones issued. She let us know what was going on because she n

Hopeful Anticipation Hopeful anticipation — a seed of hope — something we are certain will happen because of faith. We come to know that this hope is true when we grow closer to God and when we trust in Him with all that we are. There is hopeful anticipation because we have a Father who loves us, knows us, and is always with us. We also have a little book called the Bible to help back up God’s promises, and through the history given, we know that God is the same yesterday, to

I cannot tell you how many times I was more willing to do something when someone wanted to guide me than when someone just told me what to do. This is human of us, right? We don’t like being told what to do, and when that does happen, we are more likely to become bitter and defiant. But if we are asked nicely and then guided, we will be more willing and obedient. Throughout the Bible, we read many passages where God and Jesus are very direct, but in that directness, there is

How Far Would You Be? This is something my dad would always jokingly ask. I would be walking away after a conversation, and he would call my name. I’d go back, and he’d smile and ask, “If I hadn’t called you back, how far would you be?” Let’s think about that question. If we started something today, how far would we be if we kept it up? When there is a new year, we often set new goals. These goals are ones that we either stick with, or they’re ones we start, get tired of, dec

Today we’re talking about new goals that often bring excitement — and are a little overwhelming. With the new year comes new goals and new motivation and hope. Sure, there is a little hesitation and uncertainty, but we are going to push through. God cares more about who we’re becoming than how fast we achieve our goal. We all set goals, but sometimes our goals can be a little more ambitious and a little less realistic. But that is not to say that those ambitious goals can’t b

Today we are talking about resetting. It’s not about quitting or failing; it’s about beginning again and trying something new. Life actually requires us to reset often. We sleep every night to reset our bodies. Our schedules, expectations, attitudes, and priorities all need the same from time to time. God is the God of fresh starts. We have this one computer here at the office, and I hate restarting it. It’s a super old computer, and when we restart it, it takes 15 minutes to

Life doesn’t go as planned quite a lot, and so we just have to act like we know what we are doing. The best thing about all this is that though we are caught off guard, God is not. We may have to improvise, but He never does. And I don’t know about you, but I would love some insight from God so I could just be prepared for all things… One day we were out shopping, and we got to the parking lot of the last store, and all of a sudden our truck would no longer go. This, of cours

Sometimes we get so set in our routine that we just start making our Bible study time a box to check off. But really, this time is more about connection. Like you, I still want to study more and can feel stuck, intimidated, and maybe inconsistent where I’m at in my studies. So don’t feel alone in that. The most important thing to remember is that God meets us in Scripture right where we are — not where we think we should be. The first time I decided to read through the Bible,

Let’s talk today about Christmas, because it’s just a few days away. Christmas is a celebration that God came near to us so that He could demonstrate His love to us. This coming of Jesus is where we have hope. Christmas reminds us that hope arrived in person. One thing I remember happening when I was little was that on Christmas morning, breakfast was made, and it was usually homemade biscuits, eggs, and bacon. This is something that I do every year as well. This is something

Today we’re talking about helping hands . Small acts of kindness make big differences, and I think we know that as we have each experienced that throughout our lives. There is just a willingness that comes from those who help out, which is where the impact comes from. One thing I have always tried to demonstrate to my kids is that holding the door for someone, or even just acknowledging someone who has done that with a simple thank you, makes a difference. It seems small, but

Today we are talking about Our First Love — God , and we are going to discuss how Advent helps us to slow down and remember why our love for God began. Advent is all about focusing on Jesus’ birth, His ongoing presence, and His second coming. During Advent, we think about hope, peace, joy, and love. God as our first love comes before distractions, busyness, traditions, and expectations. Talking about this and Advent will help us put things into perspective this Christmas seas

Progress doesn’t always look impressive, but it is still progress. Overlooking growth happens. We have this idea of how we should look, where we should be with any goal that we set, but when that growth is slow, we just can’t seem to grasp that any growth has happened at all. God works through process, not pressure. And that is what we are going to be talking about today. Sometimes I’m all into learning something new, and sometimes I think about the process, and if there isn’

We are coming up on Christmas Day pretty quickly, and sometimes we can get caught up in getting the “right” gift, but that shouldn’t be the case. It should be more about the heart behind the gift. Sure, we hear that all the time: “It’s the thought that counts.” That is the truth of it, though. Someone took the time to think of you and pick something out just for you. But we let joy, stress, pressure, and excitement be our guides, when really, we should let the fact that God g

Let’s talk today about how Jesus is Hope. Hope isn’t a feeling; it’s a foundation, and Jesus is the foundational hope that we can stand firm on. Worldly hope is where we often sit in the state of mind of “maybe things will work out,” but biblical hope is a confident trust in God and knowing that all things work through Him — for our good and for His glory. Jesus doesn’t just give hope — He is  hope. We are hopeful and we want the best of things. We place our hope in plans, ou

Today we’re talking about the nature of true wisdom. Wisdom is something we all need, and when we look at what it really means from God’s perspective, we can learn more about wisdom than what we thought it was. Wisdom is more than just intelligence, experience, and/or cleverness. James 3 reveals something to us, and that is that wisdom is actually a posture of the heart. The wisest people are not the loudest, the smartest, or the most experienced. All those help, but it is th

Today we are talking about “letting peace be our default.” Life gives us plenty of chances to choose stress, frustration, emotions, and/or worry. But what if, when life hit us, we were able to let peace be our default — a place where we turn before anything else takes over? God’s peace is not based on circumstances but on presence, and when we live life fully understanding that He is with us, we can learn to find peace no matter what pretty quickly. Peace is not passive — it’

Virtual reality and real reality can sometimes blur — not just with technology, but with emotions, expectations, and comparison. Life online can look perfect, but real life is where God meets us. We can get so caught up in the online things that we become confused about who we are, what we believe, and even how we should talk. God invites us back to truth — a grounded, grace-filled perspective. Let’s jump into this and remember that the reality of it all is that God is the On